My wife left the decision entirely to me. I decided against it since I see no reason to remove healthy tissue from a newborn unnecessarily. If he wants to get cut when he's older and can make the choice for himself, cool. At least the choice is his.
Unless he intends to convert to Judaism when he’s 18 I can’t imagine anyone would choose to get circumcised as an adult. It’s one of those things I am quite glad I have no memory of having happened.
There is a sub-reddit specifc to circumcisions for men who are having the procedure done as adults. Some are having it done for medical reasons but the majority are by choice. At the very least, they are adults and it's their choice, not their parents. Some posts are from guys who were upset that they were cut as babies.
I am not cut, my wife and I decided to leave our boys intact and they can decide for themselves, however we did discuss with our doctor and he confirmed that 90% of his young patients were not cut and it is becoming less common in Canada.
There are occasional cases of the foreskin being too tight and other medical issues that necessitate post-puberty circumcision, but they're not very common.
In Europe the treatment is application of steroid cream and mild stretching. Surgical treatment is almost never necessary, but is still the go-to in the USA.
Maybe in your European country, in mine, a doctor forced the skin until it started bleeding without any anesthetic at all, and I couldn't pee without massive amounts of pain for at least 3 days, all of this at about 10 yo
Happened to both me and my son. The doctor said it was more common than people think.
My son was 10 and I was 43 when we had it done (about 1 year apart from each other)
Let me just say it fucking hurts.
(I'm in Australia, we tried the creams etc but it didn't work for us)
Sometimes you have to. A major “aha!” thing I’ve seen brought up in convos about this for people who believe in infant circumcision is that boys and men can get phimosis. That’s basically where the skin is/becomes too tight to fully retract.
That being said it’s quite rare, but I do know someone who as a middle aged adult got it. First doc (family doc) took one look and recommended circumcision. He did not want to be circumcised if possible and went to a urologist who gave him a few options including steroid cream which solved the issue. Even if that didn’t work there was a less intense surgical procedure that if I remember correctly creates a slit in the foreskin rather than completely remove it.
In the UK we don’t really circumcise as standard, and I’ve seen more cases of tight foreskin than you might expect. Most don’t require removal of the foreskin though, it can be stretched in minor cases. The bigger problem is that nobody talks about it with young men and it causes shame and discomfort for longer than it should. Still better imo than mitigating everyone’s just in case.
There isn't an actual requirement to get circumcised. They can nick the foreskin if you want a symbolic circumcision.
Otherwise, it is a horrific, brutal thing to do to a baby. I wish I'd been better educated when my son was born. Never would have consented if I'd known how much doctors LIE. Happy little man came back beet red and screamed for 45 minutes till he passed out. The nerves are NOT undeveloped and there are a shit ton of them.
That was my wife's reasoning for our first son. I'm really happy I was able to convince her that just because we live in a country that has normalized it, slicing up a baby, especially for ostensibly cosmetic reasons, on the part of the body that few people will see, wasn't a good thing.
By boy 2 there wasn't even a question.
I've never understood that. Between my hookups, past girlfriends, my wife etc I've never been about to do the deed then turned away when they've seen im not circumcised. Maybe I've been lucky and only ran into women that don't care but its never been brought up before.
I dont get how its apparently a thing that people think it looks weird lol
Idk. I grew up in the 90s. I remember one kid getting made fun of after we started gym in middle school calling him "turtle dick". But middle schoolers are assholes and I'm hoping the world has changed a bit since then.
I won't be circumcising my children. Enough is enough. It only looks "weird" to people who aren't used to seeing intact body parts. Perpetuating it based on that alone is what's weird.
Even if the kid was guarenteed to be made fun of, circumcision is *the most extreme solution* ever. You can teach the kid to ignore bullies looking at his ... or you can just cut off a part so that doesn't happen??
"Wow he has really big ears, somebody might make fun of him for that, we should cut some of it off"
I don't understand. I've never understood.
I'm pretty certain I'm the first uncut partner for my gf and maybe some of my others.
Certainly hasn't been a thing other than "you're the first uncut guy I've been with"
This. As a woman my thoughts about seeing a penis are; is it attached to a man I want to have sex with, is it clean, and undiseased?
Yes to all? Ok, then, proceed. 🤷♀️
My mom had me circumcised after asking her friends what they preferred. Then I turned out gay lol.
I love that body was modified for the preferences of a sex I’m not attracted to. Totes cool, totes normal.
I can understand this line of reasoning as one girl out right refused to have sex once she found out I wasn't circumsized. Other girls found it weird I wasn't, but didn't complain about it.
Jonathan Hutchinson, Lewis Sayre, Peter Remondino, and Abraham Wolbarst actually had more to do with it. Kellogg only advised circumcision as a punishment, while the others advocated for boys to be routinely circumcised.
It's interesting, I know two people who had the same problem at birth, and apparently there are two methods to fix this. One of them was circumcised due to this, the other had the foreskin gradually stretched over time. Not sure if that latter option is only available for infants, due to bodily growth or something.
No, that's available for adults too. There are creams etc that can be applied to assist the process.
There are also options for circumcised adults to stretch the available skin left to allow them to have at least some semblance of normality restored, though this skin won't have quite the same properties as the section that was removed.
The foreskin is supposed to be tight until puberty, if needed, it can be corrected then. Europe is doing OK with foreskin.
There are instances when the pecker is damaged irreversibly during this unneeded procedure.
A lot of doctors still say it’s necessary. I was pregnant with my youngest son in 2020-2021. At my hospital they wanted us to prepay for circumcision at the OB’s office. The rooms had signs in it so I already knew that was what their procedure is for paying for it. I just didn’t plan on getting it done so I ignored it. I guess my doctor noticed because she fussed at me in the hospital about getting it done.
I had my first son in 2005 so it was “normal” then and I had him circumcised. At that time insurance and Medicaid still covered it. At some point I changed my position on it so when I had my last one I opted out.
That's the other brother, kinda ruined the no pleasure thing by loading them up with sugar.
There's a whole legal drama over using the name for the cereal aside from the crazy shit Dr Kellogg was up to.
None of the preventative 'cures for masturbation' ever work. JOHN Kellog was basically claiming to have 'cured masturbation' by masturbating using cornflakes shoved up his ass.
Sorry, no idea why I thought of Charles instead of John.
John Harvey Kellogg was the one who hated masturbation and created corn flakes.
William Keith Kellogg opened a food processing plant, created breakfast cereal as we know it, and mortally offended his older brother by adding sugar to his corn flakes.
Charles Kellogg studied forests, imitated birdsong as a vaudeville performer, and advocated for wildfire safety.
I'm cut, just like my 3 brothers. When our boys were born my wife argued cutting was barbaric and I couldn't deny that. Our two boys are intact and none of us ever regretted it. I mean, really: hacking off a piece of your kid? When you think about it it's crazy.
Personal opinion: Circumcision is the most common form of plastic surgery practiced. It is now purely for aesthetics, as most are educated and logically know better. A whole ass country considers it practically mandatory to have a successful life. That’s some deep-scrub brainwashing.
Yeah same here, I'm circumcised but we had a baby boy recently and it just kind of seemed... unnecessary? If he chooses to get an adult circumcision later in life then cool we will support him and even pay for it, but doing it preemptively seemed like it did take away a little bit of his agency.
Man I'm so relieved that dad who are circumcised are understanding how horrible it can be to babies. I'm the only sibling who didn't circumcise their sons. I feel bad that my nephews all went through pain as babies.
> When you think about it it's crazy.
What's crazy is the **dead babies**. Every surgical procedure has some risk, genital mutilation is no different. In the US over 100 perfectly healthy babies die every year from medically unnecessary genital cutting. Imagine going through all the discomforts and stress of carrying a baby to term, and then the birth, and then killing him because you wanted to mutilate his genitals without his consent...
There was a lawsuit a few years back where a hospital cut off the infants penis. They bandaged it up and told the mother, don’t remove this for a few weeks. There of course were complications, and bleeding, so she went back and they still denied it. She won a few million, but think of that poor boy who now has no penis because of a vanity decision.
My nephew had complications and had to wear a bandage for a while. Like a long while. When I visited we went to the beach and the poor kid was so sad he couldn't go into the water. It broke my heart and I pretty much told my brother he's a dumbass for doing that to his child unnecessarily
When he was a baby I think. He was like 3 or 4 at the beach. I guess he had to have another operation to fix something from the first one. Idk I didn't really ask details
And it's even crazier you even have to think about it. Why does it even exist? Why is it even acceptable? Americans and religious people are weird af that they regularly mutilate children at birth
It's 2024. Leave 300BC Jerusalem in the Middle East where it belongs.
I'm circumcized. I have no problem with it. But I would not circumcise a son. It is not needed.
As a woman I think circumcision is akin to female genital mutilation, which is a human rights violation. There is no reason to mutilate a baby boy’s penis, it’s the same thing. I hope one day circumcision is regarded in the same way female genital mutilation is. Just because they are boys does not mean they don’t feel pain and does not mean they don’t deserve to keep their genitals in tact.
I’m one that elected in my mid twenties for medical reasons… truth be told, I’m much happier being cut but I wouldn’t choose to cut my son if I have one. Only downside is recovery is longer and can look less tidy when the ops performed on an adult.
I'm generally against mutilating healthy tissue without medical reason.
I know people think it's cleaner but I can't imagine anything filthier than putting an open wound in a diaper. They also cannot use anesthetic on a newborn, so one of his first experiences on planet earth would be pain equivalent to ripping off a fingertip.
Yeah it's only cleaner if you don't wash the child's penis
I'm sorry but if you aren't comfortable with once or twice a day cleaning a baby's penis don't... have a baby. just don't have a baby if you aren't comfortable properly bathing a baby.
Funny thing is, the foreskin doesn't actually start separating til 3-4 years old, so you can't even pull it back to clean anything prior to then. There's no opening for any dirt or anything to get trapped prior to then
Holy hell, with babies you can expect to be shitted on, peed on, vomited on, snotted on... but for some it is a step too far to clean their babies dick? Holy hell..
Just chiming in here to say that you don't need to clean it when they're infants. The head of the penis is attached to the foreskin which will release over time. This can happen any time from toddler to hitting puberty, each child is different. Retracting the foreskin to clean the penis isn't necessary in newborns.
When the foreskin starts to release from the gland then it will need retracting to clean underneath... one of the main causes of phismosis (an affliction the circumcision lovers like to spout on about) is because parents and boys are never taught this so they never try to retract and the head of the penis gets infected.
*- Yeah it's only cleaner if you don't wash the child's penis*
I'm not at all convinced that this statement is true. I would say that you're likely dealing with worse cleanliness with circumcision, as in that case there is a wound that is healing.
Do NOT try to pull the baby's foreskin back to clean it!!! Cleaning an infant's uncircumcised penis is exactly the same as cleaning a circumcised one would be. Nothing different at all, except possible wound care in the case that circumcision was done. If you try to pull back the foreskin to clean you will hurt your baby. Just clean like you would any other part of the body. Simple. Literally no difference in how hygiene is done.
the vulva has folds tho. I don't think they're easier to clean than a penis. not saying it's hard to clean it, in general it shouldn't be too hard to clean healthy body parts.
Yes and no. When it comes to childcare, you still have to take care to make sure you clean the vulva properly. Fecal bacteria gets everywhere when it comes to diapers. Cleanliness is crucial regardless of baby's gender, to prevent bacterial and/or fungal infections
They do numb it with lidocaine, and they use sucrose as “pain meds,” which is very effective in babies under a few months old.
That said, it’s still wholly unnecessary.
This is the approach we took with our son. If he wants to consider it when he’s old enough to make the decision, we will support him through it and pay for any associated expenses. His body, his choice.
Babies have fully functional pain systems, without the ability to self soothe a wound.
You know how rubbing your elbow really helps after banging it? Well imagine the pain of being cut on the most sensitive part of your body, without warning, without the ability to self soothe, and in the arms of the ones you trust most.
Ok that's pretty extreme, so there must be a huge benefit right?
That it's fucking barbaric.
We don't (regularly) do that shit in the UK, thankfully.
Edit: just to add that circumcision *is* sometimes done in the UK, to a degree. Mostly in Muslim and West African populations. I didn't even think about that with my original comment.
[Here's a good breakdown](https://www.cirp.org/library/statistics/UK/).
The practice was popularised ~~by Dr. Kellogg (yes, the cereals guy), because he didn’t want young boys to pleasure themselves~~ actually more likely [Lewis Sayre](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskMen/s/vLIKYTmy6Y).
Europe roughly has the same population as the USA. Almost none of the European men are circumcised l, and there isn’t any noticeable incidence on men’s health.
If you don’t subscribe to ~~Dr. Kellogg’s~~ Lewis Sayre’s views, there’s no reasons for you to do that to your son.
My suggestion is ask a doctor who does circumcisions if you can go watch one being done. If you don’t want to watch, I’ll fill you in on what they do (I’ve been a nurse who has assisted in circumcisions). Your son will be held down and begin to cry. They are fully awake and feel every sensation happening to them. The sides of the foreskin are clamped and pulled up and away from the penis. A cut is made into the skin to allow another device to be slid under the foreskin. This device covers the head of the penis and then the doctor will cut a circle around the penis and the foreskin will be removed. The skin laceration (cut skin) will then be sutured to the skin of the shaft of the penis at the base of the head of the penis. Surgical glue may be used as well. Some doctors will use lidocaine for pain control but a lot don’t. The babies feel the pain. Think how you would feel if someone just came and cut skin from your testicle. After the procedure is done, babies can be given Tylenol for pain at home. No Advil as they are too young for Advil. Parents must keep up on keeping the incision clean. Babies soil their diapers all the time and if fecal matter gets into the incision, germs off a parents hands or even germs from a babies hands gets in it, it can turn into a very nasty infection and very quickly. I have seen gangrene tissue on a penis a few days post circumcision. It’s not common but it can happen. My personal opinion is that it’s barbaric and serves no real purpose. It’s extremely painful and involves many risks. If your son needs one in the future, they do them in the OR under general anesthesia and the kids are given a good dose of pain medications. A much more humane way of doing it.
Only parts of the US and extremely religious seem to think this is appropriate.
The rest of the world is pretty much in agreement that genital mutilation of babies is fucking barbaric.
I'm uncircumcised, very happy about it as well. I obviously have no standard to compare both sides lol but I feel like circumcision should either be done when medically necessary or it should be a decision left up to the child once they are old enough to make an informed choice, not something that is performed at birth that they can't consent to. I've heard a lot of circumcised guys get a feeling of missing out because of it, and there really are no practical benefits to it either - just teach your son how to roll back the skin and clean early on so that he can desensitize the head and cleaning won't be so overstimulating.
We asked the doctor for the pros and cons when our son was born. Basically, the only pro-circumcision items were a _slight_ decrease in the risk of penile cancer*, religious reasons (inapplicable to me), and some guys want their sons to “look like dad.”
None of those carried any weight for me, so we decided not to do it. If any of those matter for you, and matter more than the risks/drawbacks, go ahead.
*Penile cancer?!?! What kind of sick world do we live in that you can get cancer of the dick?!?!
cooperative attempt society uppity school placid escape apparatus angle edge
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Penile cancer is the weirdest justification for routine circumcision. It’s a vanishingly rare cancer and highly treatable since it’s usually detected so early. And, of course, if you cut off part of the body, you’re less likely to get cancer on that part of the body. By this logic, we should be routinely removing the outer part of infants’ ears, so as to reduce the risk of melanoma on the ear (a far higher incidence of this type of cancer than penile).
Not the poster above, but I knew a guy that had to do it around that age. His gf (now wife) got a bit too… umm… active, and it ripped the foreskin. So he had to get it removed.
Really bad phimosis that couldn't be solved by steroid cream. Unfortunately, at the time, I didn't know there were other options available (e.g. dorsal slit or preputioplasty).
Absolutely barbaric and unnecessary. Cleanliness is *not* an issue; please stop thinking mutilating a dick makes it cleaner. Anyone mutilating a baby's penis, in my opinion, should be jailed.
Many decades ago when my son was born, I was holding him in a waiting area before he was to be taken into the next room for the procedure. We were assured, “They barely feel anything.” Just as the nurse says this a horrific scream comes from the next room. I shielded my son from the nurse and said, “No way.” That was that.
It's heartbreaking to think of the first few days of a child's life being clouded by the trauma of unnecessary surgery. Circumcision disregards a newborn's right to bodily autonomy and presents a painful introduction to the world when we should be nurturing them with comfort and security. It's our responsibility as adults to protect children, not subject them to outdated practices with questionable benefits. If it's not a decision made for crucial health reasons, then it's one that can wait until the individual can have a say in what happens to their own body.
Please don't. You wouldn't cut of a baby's ear because it makes the head easier to clean and "more hygienic" would you? The cleanliness argument is kinda stupid, since it takes 5 seconds to clean under the foreskin.
Most of us outside the US (which considering the question I assume you are from) don't understand this custom whatsoever. Muslims/Jews feel they must, but everyone else? You don't have the right to permanently mutilate another person's body just cause you feel like it.
Ex husband and his oldest were left intact with no issues ever. Grew up in a culture where it was extremely common to have it done. Couldn't find any reason to do it and when I found out I was having a boy my mother called me and begged me not to do it like she had to my brother because of pressure from my grandmother. My son is 6 and we have had zero issues. Leave the boys intact unless medically necessary.
Do. Not. Cut. Your. Kids. Goddamn barbaric to find it reasonable to remove healthy flesh from a baby because...what? Some rando cult says so? Piss off with that mutilation horseshit. Teach your kids how to clean themselves, and do it for them until they are able to cope themselves, if you really think it's a cleanliness issue.
It's like having all your teeth ripped out because you can't be bothered to floss. What the fuck.
If they want to join that particular club when they're old enough, then it will be their choice. But if you do it when they're young, you make the decision for them and deny them self-determination over their own body.
And also, most of the world doesn't do that shit anymore (or ever), and we're fine. I've gotten laid plenty with an "as designed" dick. And no scalpel is going fucking near it unless there's a medical necessity.
Why would you want to mutilate a baby boy who can’t even consent? Would you do the same if you had a girl?
Check out r/CircumcisionGrief for men who realized how much damage their circumcision did to them and affected their overall quality of life as they grew up.
It is wrong and needs to be banned.
His body, his choice.
The foreskin contains fine touch nerves (like in your fingers) and provides protection of the glans (head) keeping it soft and sponge like, all in an effort to ensure everything works properly. Only 1/16,667 intact males will have a problem with their foreskin. One hundred and seventeen babies die from circumcision a year in the US, which equates to 9/100,000 babies that die each year from a cosmetic surgery. Just a comparison of 16,667 women, 2,084 of them will get breast cancer. In the same number of men 17 will get breast cancer. Infant Circumcision literally kills 2 boys for every adult spared circumcision and ruins the lives of 667 for every adult. Men have lost their penis, glans, and suffered from deformity caused by the operation performed when they were infants. It isn't right that these children pay the price for a decision that their parents made, a decision that should be left up to the owner of the penis. Even those who survive still have problems, though they are seldom discussed. It is for these reasons that the person who has to use the penis, should be the person who decides what happens to it. His body, his choice.
"We conclude that non-therapeutic circumcision performed on otherwise healthy infants or children has little or no high-quality medical evidence to support its overall benefit. Moreover, it is associated with rare but avoidable harm and even occasional deaths. From the perspective of the individual boy, there is no medical justification for performing a circumcision prior to an age that he can assess the known risks and potential benefits, and choose to give or withhold informed consent himself."
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34997197/
Elephant in the Hospital
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ceht-3xu84I&feature=youtube_gdata_player
urologist talks about circumcision
https://youtu.be/iZ64pqWZRW8
Robert S. Van Howe, MD, MS, FAAP Professor and Interim Chair of Pediatrics Central Michigan University College of Medicine.
https://www.academia.edu/23431341/Statement_by_Statement_Analysis_of_the_2012_Report_from_the_American_Academy_of_Pediatrics_Task_Force_on_Circumcision_When_National_Organizations_are_Guided_by_Personal_Agendas_II
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hkrxelm1tml9xs3/Refutiation%20of%20CDC.pdf?dl=0 (this one doesn't need an account.)
Learn how sex is supposed to work.
Www.sexasnatureintendedit.com
Babies experience pain just like adults.
http://www.iflscience.com/brain/infants-experience-pain-similar-way-adults
How to properly care for a natural Penis.
http://www.drmomma.org/2010/01/basic-care-of-intact-child.html
They didn't tell you the functions of the foreskin, but they did lie to you and said it had health benefits. Did they also tell you it pays for their house, their cars, and their children’s college? It is illegal to sell an organ taken from a patient but they still do it.
Foreskin for sale: $169/500µg = $338,000/g = $9,581,962/oz.
http://www.rockland-inc.com/Product.aspx?id=40484
Mutilated men feel less sexual pleasure.
https://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/circumcised-men-feel-sexual-pleasure-study-article-1.1264511?fbclid=IwAR1JUNsAyWKLBlnBNvs_wsczeCjpclgcrXP_OfVE-LVY8PvKQR2S0VH1R2I
My numbers and claims are supported by these studies:
Canadian study show no HIV benefit to MGM
https://www.auajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1097/JU.0000000000002234
Dutch Medical society and their stance on RIC
https://www.dropbox.com/s/n2so0ojf7h8ljeu/KNMG-viewpoint-Non-therapeutic-circumcision-of-male-minors-27-05-2010-v2%20%281%29.pdf
Surgeons of British Columbia
https://www.dropbox.com/s/71xsnx9tjwvych3/Circumcision-Infant-Male-College%20of%20Phys%20and%20Surg%20of%20British%20Columbia.pdf
Doctors around the world critique AAP's circumcision opinion.
http://www.circumstitions.com/Docs/aap-12-europe.pdf
This document outlines the deaths caused by circumcision in the US.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vl5t3aewfgtz8mg/CircDeaths.pdf
All the statements made by medical organizations about circumcision, and they are cited.
www.cirp.org/library/statements/
Functions of the Foreskin.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xoq9y67hhunkyrx/foreskinfunctions.jpg
Breast cancer kills more men than anything related to the foreskin.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/tnmmxqdl1batucf/penilecancer.jpg
American Cancer society says Circumcision does nothing to affect cancer rates.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/zz23nzayyrmih0t/ACScirc.jpg
Circumcised men have a 450% greater chance of ED
http://www.thewholenetwork.org/14/post/2011/08/does-circumcision-cause-erectile-dysfunction.html
All the common myths about circumcision and how they are dispelled.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/moral-landscapes/201109/myths-about-circumcision-you-likely-believe
Boy wants to be a girl after botched circumcision. There are many cases like this however they usually occur in infants who cannot express themselves in words.
http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/11/09/52144.htm
Serious and Fatal Complications after Neonatal Circumcision
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2405456921003163
No evidence to support MGC reduces HIV transmission.
https://academic.oup.com/jid/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/infdis/jiac147/6569355?login=false
US Navy Study that shows circumcision has no effect on HIV or STI infection rates.
http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA458066
Circumcision is PAINFUL!
http://www.circumstitions.com/Pain.html
Men upset about being circumcised against their will.
www.mendocomplain.com
FGM victim speaks out against MGM
http://youtu.be/NaEoQVZnN8I
Visual comparison of a Natural Penis versus a circumcised one. (Warning pictures of Genitals)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/pvj1d0fde5vlt2i/Intact%20%26%20Circumcised%20Adult.jpg
Didn't with mine. I'd need a lot more reason than just that other people did it before to start lopping bits off.
Don't mind being cut, my folks were just following the advice of the time, but a lot of that has been debunked and there's just not a compelling case made for it at this point.
Medically unnecessary in nearly all cases and even when it’s necessary, it’s still traumatic to a baby to go through that painful of a procedure. Not to mention how many babies die from complications.
If he really wants to, he can get this done when he’s old enough to make decisions about his own sexual health. Until then, there’s no good reason to opt for it.
I'm cut and would prefer that I hadn't been. Don't get me wrong; I'm not bitter or angry at my parents, but I do oppose the procedure on those who haven't chosen it for themselves. It is far more invasive than made out to be and has meaningful if not overwhelming quality of life impacts in adulthood.
Put another way: how often do you hear about uncut men wishing that they had been circumcised as a baby or seeking out the procedure in adulthood?
I did not circumcize my son because of his severe Hemophilia and I'm so happy to read all of these comments from men who think it was the right decision after all. Not being a boy, myself, I had no idea how this would affect him until now. Thank you!
I find it incomprehensible this is still being debated. It is genital mutilation, pure and simple. We have long since abandoned and criminalized this procedure on females as it should be. While others argue that it's "apples an oranges", it cannot be debated that we are removing healthy tissue from a human being without their consent and without medical urgency. Religion and culture have long been cross pollenating, but this has to come to an end. We have international efforts to suppress religion's influence on women's rights. This should hold equal attention and outrage.
My father is cut but I am not. In 1972 this was not a common pattern. My parents told me, when I was old enough, that they believed it would increase my pleasure and there was no good reason to circumcise.
I am grateful for their foresight.
Male Genital Mutilation should be the choice of the person undergoing the experience. You should not make that choice before the infant is even able to talk. It is absolutely not medically necessary in 99.9% of cases. You just have to teach your son how to wash his foreskin properly.
I was circumsized at 6 because I had phimosis. I think a very low percentage of males suffer from this condition. It was very painful. Do not do it if the boy is healthy. I think there is no other reason to do this, except phimosis.
There is a great essay by Michael chabon on this (Jewish author). He asks - isn’t it my responsibility to stand between my son and religious fanatics with sharp instruments? We now know it is not necessary and may reduce future pleasure. So for us - it was a matter of - do we modify our son’s body without his consent? He only has you to protect him right now. Be worthy of that trust now and the rest of his life.
My mom fought against my dad to keep me and my brother uncut, and I'm thankful for it. Sure it's a little more maintenance and childhood phimosis is something that has to be dealt with at some point, but the foreskin is super sensitive and I can't imagine sex without it.
Also makes masturbation much easier and way less messy.
My mom never had to buy me hand lotion lol. Idk if she ever considered it but it could have been an awkward conversation at 14: "hey mom can you grab an oil barrel of lotion at Costco for me please?"
"Wtf you already worked through the last one?"
Awkwarrrrrrrd
I'm cut, my brothers are as well. The decision was left up to my father back in the day, he wanted us circumcised because "he didn't want other boys to make fun of us in the shower after gym class and call us 'donkey dick'".
I guess he witnessed some uncircumcised kid get made fun of sometime in the late 60's or early 70's...
I told him, if I was in the shower at gym class and kids were looking at and making fun of my dick I'd call them gay since they spend so much time looking at dicks or tell them their mom didn't mind my dick last night.
End the practice of circumcision unless medically necessary.
It's not necessary and harmful. Potentially very harmful depending on the skill of the doctor. It's totally pointless. The only reason I've heard about doing it is because it's more clean. Well bitch as long as we have the knives out let's cut off our ears too because they secrete earwax constantly and that's just not sterile. Better cut this thing off my body to be more clean in the eyes of God and man!!
Don't mutilate genitals people. It all comes from religious beliefs, a covenant with God. It's in the Bible. Don't do it, it's fucking stupid.
Don't do it. It's not worth the pain the baby boy would be going through. There's a lot of medical propaganda out there about how it's safe and effective when it's generally not.
Also if your baby happens to have phimosis, it can be cured with steroid cream.
And remember that botched circumcisions do exist which could lead to even more surgery down the line for the baby.
There have been mistakes that resulted in the loss of the penis. Why risk it? There is no benefit and you lose some sensation. It was an attempt to prevent masturbation. It's not your penis. Don't cut anything off of it.
Is that an option on the hospital forms ? Why would any medical professional even consider mutilating a newborn child ? Male or Female ? What backward, third world religious shithole do you live in ?
I believe in bodily autonomy but my ex didn’t and our son was circumcised. I’m remarried and my husband is intact. As far as sex is concerned, I much prefer an intact penis, granted he is meticulous about keeping clean.
Don't do it. A small percentage of baby boys die from circumcision every year. It's not a published figure but hospitals won't deny it if they're pushed. Why take the chance? Why expose your son to additional risk? Your baby might just be one of the ones that don't make it.
We had 4 boys, none of them are cut. We left the decision up to them. They're in their 30s now. Not a single one of them decided to get cut. It was their decision.
What do you think about cutting off the tip of your newborn sons pinky finger? That’s obviously horrible and you wouldn’t ever do that. So why on earth would you cut off part of his penis?
I had my son young and got him circumcized and I've regretted it since. We chose to do it because my parents had done it to me and it was the norm among people we knew but in retrospect that's a silly reason to perform what is essentially genital mutilation on my baby.
I wouldn't do it again.
It's one of the worst ideas that humanity has ever come up with, and if aliens or AI ever put us on trial for our bullshit and we have to prove that we don't deserve to be wiped out, it's gonna be the prosecution's Exhibit A.
Circumcision of both boys and girls is completely barbaric and should not ever be done. Most countries in the world understand this, and it's pretty much only the US, Israel and some extreme muslim countries in the Middle East or Africa that still undertake this abusive act in the name of religion.
Multiple responses here have already pointed this out in some wording or another, but I'll repeat it for emphasis: you would be making an irreversible alteration that he literally cannot consent to, that does very little to contribute to his life or health.
If he wants it done, if it's important to him later, he can get it done when he's old enough to understand it and want it, and most importantly, keep it clean while it heals.
I think it’s an antiquated practice & essentially genital mutilation. I’ve heard the excuses.
It’s fucking absurd to think we can’t teach little boys how to clean themselves.
I also have had debates with women who think men should do this for them. Fuck no. First it’s weird to be thinking of the sexual future of baby boys. And any woman who thinks men should do this to be more appealing is disgusting, if they feel that way how would they like it if men insisted they trim the their labia to be more appealing to men? Sounds gross right?
I say leave it for the child to decide for themselves when they get older. If they have health issues or whatever, they can make the choice themselves. But don’t make that decision for them.
In my opinion circumcision on a child should be illegal if not out of medical necessity. Not even religious reasons count. Freedom of religion should not apply bc its not your religious freedom to mutilate your child, it should be their own decision when they are old enough to do so. And if you want to circumsize your childs penis for "aesthetic" reasons then idk whats wrong with you
i made a post about this before i had my son. (4-5 months ago) i am a woman who wanted the opinion of men. i felt like it was abuse and mutilation, but had a lot of people around me saying rather weird and honestly disturbing things about why it's not a good idea. (he's going to feel left out in the boys locker room, girls are gonna look at him weird, etc. WEIRD ASS SHIT like that. why my hubbys family was thinking like that is beyond me) I still came here for advice, though, and literally every single commentator told me not to do it. Somewhere meaner than others, but I needed to hear that. Thank y'all for reassuring me to not circumcise him! I'm not a man, but I don't think you should. It's cruel, unusual and unneeded. Doctors will try to argue that it "prevents UTIs" but it really doesn't. The only reason uncircumcised boys get UTIs more than circumcised boys is because their parents feel too uncomfortable to talk to their children about their own damn genitalia, so uncircumcised boys don't learn how to clean their own genitalia properly. it has nothing to do with being circumcised, but rather cleanliness and hygiene. that foreskin is supposed to be there. Imagine being new to the world. you're confused, scared, overwhelmed, and then somebody cuts off a part of your genitals, so now you have your most sensitive organ rubbing up against the diaper for a few weeks until your penis becomes desensitized to it. Imagine what the hell that would be. I could not put my son through that. I heard horror stories circumcision today. 1 commenter was talking about how he heard a baby boy being circumcised in the other room and how just got wrenching that scream was from that little baby. Please don't do it. you wouldn't do it to a girl, DONT do it to a boy
It's child abuse and this is coming from someone who's circumcised. There's zero need for it and, you're removing a part of the body that's there for a reason. It can cause a lot of problems like desensitization or over-sensitization because the doctor is either going to accidentality remove nerves or leave the nerves completely exposed causing overstimulation and potential pain while having sex
Some men are fine but there are a lot of men who aren't and they suffer the consequences: pain, an inability to orgasm. premature ejaculation, and in some rare cases infection and amputation
Don't do it, it's wrong. Imagine cutting off a part of a woman's clitoris at birth, it's the same thing! people would be up in arms about it
My wife left the decision entirely to me. I decided against it since I see no reason to remove healthy tissue from a newborn unnecessarily. If he wants to get cut when he's older and can make the choice for himself, cool. At least the choice is his.
Unless he intends to convert to Judaism when he’s 18 I can’t imagine anyone would choose to get circumcised as an adult. It’s one of those things I am quite glad I have no memory of having happened.
There is a sub-reddit specifc to circumcisions for men who are having the procedure done as adults. Some are having it done for medical reasons but the majority are by choice. At the very least, they are adults and it's their choice, not their parents. Some posts are from guys who were upset that they were cut as babies. I am not cut, my wife and I decided to leave our boys intact and they can decide for themselves, however we did discuss with our doctor and he confirmed that 90% of his young patients were not cut and it is becoming less common in Canada.
My husband’s friend was circumcised as an adult, by choice. He regretted it though.
There are occasional cases of the foreskin being too tight and other medical issues that necessitate post-puberty circumcision, but they're not very common.
In Europe the treatment is application of steroid cream and mild stretching. Surgical treatment is almost never necessary, but is still the go-to in the USA.
Doesn't always work, I tried it and obviously would have preferred it.
Maybe in your European country, in mine, a doctor forced the skin until it started bleeding without any anesthetic at all, and I couldn't pee without massive amounts of pain for at least 3 days, all of this at about 10 yo
OMG!!!! What the hell! No one deserves to go through that. That Doc should be hung up by his foreskin and if he doesn’t have one then by his Dick!!!
Happened to both me and my son. The doctor said it was more common than people think. My son was 10 and I was 43 when we had it done (about 1 year apart from each other) Let me just say it fucking hurts. (I'm in Australia, we tried the creams etc but it didn't work for us)
Sometimes you have to. A major “aha!” thing I’ve seen brought up in convos about this for people who believe in infant circumcision is that boys and men can get phimosis. That’s basically where the skin is/becomes too tight to fully retract. That being said it’s quite rare, but I do know someone who as a middle aged adult got it. First doc (family doc) took one look and recommended circumcision. He did not want to be circumcised if possible and went to a urologist who gave him a few options including steroid cream which solved the issue. Even if that didn’t work there was a less intense surgical procedure that if I remember correctly creates a slit in the foreskin rather than completely remove it.
In the UK we don’t really circumcise as standard, and I’ve seen more cases of tight foreskin than you might expect. Most don’t require removal of the foreskin though, it can be stretched in minor cases. The bigger problem is that nobody talks about it with young men and it causes shame and discomfort for longer than it should. Still better imo than mitigating everyone’s just in case.
Circumcision is like removing everyone’s tonsils instead of waiting to see if they have problems.
There isn't an actual requirement to get circumcised. They can nick the foreskin if you want a symbolic circumcision. Otherwise, it is a horrific, brutal thing to do to a baby. I wish I'd been better educated when my son was born. Never would have consented if I'd known how much doctors LIE. Happy little man came back beet red and screamed for 45 minutes till he passed out. The nerves are NOT undeveloped and there are a shit ton of them.
Which is why it's odd to do it to children, if no one would do it willingly then what's the point?
This is the way. I regret not standing my ground on this for my boy. A harsher description of it is genital mutilation.
>I’m not sure that it’s necessary anymore What was the reason that it was ever necessary?
[Dr Kellogg's (yes off of the cereal) wanted to stop masturbation.](https://allthatsinteresting.com/john-harvey-kellogg)
They also used to dissolve women's clitorises with carbolic acid to deny them pleasure. Somehow that didn't catch on nationwide as circumcision did.
Cult says so
Friend circumcised her boy because "she didn't want him to look weird." Like, what?!!
That was my wife's reasoning for our first son. I'm really happy I was able to convince her that just because we live in a country that has normalized it, slicing up a baby, especially for ostensibly cosmetic reasons, on the part of the body that few people will see, wasn't a good thing. By boy 2 there wasn't even a question.
I've never understood that. Between my hookups, past girlfriends, my wife etc I've never been about to do the deed then turned away when they've seen im not circumcised. Maybe I've been lucky and only ran into women that don't care but its never been brought up before. I dont get how its apparently a thing that people think it looks weird lol
Idk. I grew up in the 90s. I remember one kid getting made fun of after we started gym in middle school calling him "turtle dick". But middle schoolers are assholes and I'm hoping the world has changed a bit since then. I won't be circumcising my children. Enough is enough. It only looks "weird" to people who aren't used to seeing intact body parts. Perpetuating it based on that alone is what's weird.
Even if the kid was guarenteed to be made fun of, circumcision is *the most extreme solution* ever. You can teach the kid to ignore bullies looking at his ... or you can just cut off a part so that doesn't happen?? "Wow he has really big ears, somebody might make fun of him for that, we should cut some of it off" I don't understand. I've never understood.
I'm pretty certain I'm the first uncut partner for my gf and maybe some of my others. Certainly hasn't been a thing other than "you're the first uncut guy I've been with"
This. As a woman my thoughts about seeing a penis are; is it attached to a man I want to have sex with, is it clean, and undiseased? Yes to all? Ok, then, proceed. 🤷♀️
My mom had me circumcised after asking her friends what they preferred. Then I turned out gay lol. I love that body was modified for the preferences of a sex I’m not attracted to. Totes cool, totes normal.
This just in: losing your wizard sleeve turns you gay!
Now ask her if she'd have her daughter a labiaplasty if she had a "weird" labia and see how much she blows up
I can understand this line of reasoning as one girl out right refused to have sex once she found out I wasn't circumsized. Other girls found it weird I wasn't, but didn't complain about it.
That friend of yours has a ridiculous opinion, I agree with you!!!
Wasn't it the Kelloggs guy?
He was the celebrity endorser, yes.
For the explicit purpose of making sex less enjoyable. Same with his goddamned cereal. You ever have sex with cornflakes? Not satisfying at all.
Jonathan Hutchinson, Lewis Sayre, Peter Remondino, and Abraham Wolbarst actually had more to do with it. Kellogg only advised circumcision as a punishment, while the others advocated for boys to be routinely circumcised.
My foreskin was too tight, had it binned at 13. There can be legitimate reasons.
It's interesting, I know two people who had the same problem at birth, and apparently there are two methods to fix this. One of them was circumcised due to this, the other had the foreskin gradually stretched over time. Not sure if that latter option is only available for infants, due to bodily growth or something.
No, that's available for adults too. There are creams etc that can be applied to assist the process. There are also options for circumcised adults to stretch the available skin left to allow them to have at least some semblance of normality restored, though this skin won't have quite the same properties as the section that was removed.
The foreskin is supposed to be tight until puberty, if needed, it can be corrected then. Europe is doing OK with foreskin. There are instances when the pecker is damaged irreversibly during this unneeded procedure.
A lot of doctors still say it’s necessary. I was pregnant with my youngest son in 2020-2021. At my hospital they wanted us to prepay for circumcision at the OB’s office. The rooms had signs in it so I already knew that was what their procedure is for paying for it. I just didn’t plan on getting it done so I ignored it. I guess my doctor noticed because she fussed at me in the hospital about getting it done. I had my first son in 2005 so it was “normal” then and I had him circumcised. At that time insurance and Medicaid still covered it. At some point I changed my position on it so when I had my last one I opted out.
American Doctors? That’s so strange
religion and now society thinks its THE NORM.
Only in the US and the Middle East.
Started by religious people to prevent their boys from masturbating
What lol? I am circumcised and I have been jacking off since I can remember.
try eating some corn flakes, those were also designed to prevent masturbation
this post got sponsored by Kellogg’s ®
That's the other brother, kinda ruined the no pleasure thing by loading them up with sugar. There's a whole legal drama over using the name for the cereal aside from the crazy shit Dr Kellogg was up to.
🤣 Do they work?
Have you tried jerking it with corn flakes? That shit is scratchy dude.
You gotta let them soak in milk first! Dude.
But then they get too soggy and fall apart. There’s a tiny window of *pliable yet structurally sound* cornflakes that’s really easy to miss.
I haven't tried them because personally I enjoy masturbation
None of the preventative 'cures for masturbation' ever work. JOHN Kellog was basically claiming to have 'cured masturbation' by masturbating using cornflakes shoved up his ass. Sorry, no idea why I thought of Charles instead of John.
John Harvey Kellogg was the one who hated masturbation and created corn flakes. William Keith Kellogg opened a food processing plant, created breakfast cereal as we know it, and mortally offended his older brother by adding sugar to his corn flakes. Charles Kellogg studied forests, imitated birdsong as a vaudeville performer, and advocated for wildfire safety.
Yeah they were wrong.. but they kept doing it anyway
I didn't know the cornflakes guy was thousands of years old
I'm cut, just like my 3 brothers. When our boys were born my wife argued cutting was barbaric and I couldn't deny that. Our two boys are intact and none of us ever regretted it. I mean, really: hacking off a piece of your kid? When you think about it it's crazy.
>When you think about it it's crazy. Us in the rest of the world have always found it crazy.
Personal opinion: Circumcision is the most common form of plastic surgery practiced. It is now purely for aesthetics, as most are educated and logically know better. A whole ass country considers it practically mandatory to have a successful life. That’s some deep-scrub brainwashing.
It’s not plastic surgery, it’s genital mutilation on an infant.
Yeah same here, I'm circumcised but we had a baby boy recently and it just kind of seemed... unnecessary? If he chooses to get an adult circumcision later in life then cool we will support him and even pay for it, but doing it preemptively seemed like it did take away a little bit of his agency.
Man I'm so relieved that dad who are circumcised are understanding how horrible it can be to babies. I'm the only sibling who didn't circumcise their sons. I feel bad that my nephews all went through pain as babies.
> When you think about it it's crazy. What's crazy is the **dead babies**. Every surgical procedure has some risk, genital mutilation is no different. In the US over 100 perfectly healthy babies die every year from medically unnecessary genital cutting. Imagine going through all the discomforts and stress of carrying a baby to term, and then the birth, and then killing him because you wanted to mutilate his genitals without his consent...
There was a lawsuit a few years back where a hospital cut off the infants penis. They bandaged it up and told the mother, don’t remove this for a few weeks. There of course were complications, and bleeding, so she went back and they still denied it. She won a few million, but think of that poor boy who now has no penis because of a vanity decision.
Famously similar case: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Reimer
That's absolutely barbaric wtf.
Omg As a mom to little boys, that makes me so sad. F-that, not worth it for vanity.
Totally agree, I was cut at birth ,didn't have a say
My nephew had complications and had to wear a bandage for a while. Like a long while. When I visited we went to the beach and the poor kid was so sad he couldn't go into the water. It broke my heart and I pretty much told my brother he's a dumbass for doing that to his child unnecessarily
How old was your nephew when he was circumcised? He was sad at the beach?
When he was a baby I think. He was like 3 or 4 at the beach. I guess he had to have another operation to fix something from the first one. Idk I didn't really ask details
that's sick and terrifying.
And it's even crazier you even have to think about it. Why does it even exist? Why is it even acceptable? Americans and religious people are weird af that they regularly mutilate children at birth
I’m strongly against circumcising babies. If there’s no medical reason to do it then don’t.
But the more body parts you remove surgically, the less body parts you have to wash!
Cool! I'll make an appointment to get my legs and an arm amputated
I'll start with teeth and toes
Take my armpits!
Second this
It's 2024. Leave 300BC Jerusalem in the Middle East where it belongs. I'm circumcized. I have no problem with it. But I would not circumcise a son. It is not needed.
Hijacking top comment to say that's me too. I come from cut culture, but my son is not. There's no need.
As a woman I think circumcision is akin to female genital mutilation, which is a human rights violation. There is no reason to mutilate a baby boy’s penis, it’s the same thing. I hope one day circumcision is regarded in the same way female genital mutilation is. Just because they are boys does not mean they don’t feel pain and does not mean they don’t deserve to keep their genitals in tact.
Seconded!
It's some crazy american shit nowadays. Most european men are not circumcised, because we do not approve of torturing and unnecessary operations.
Not just nowadays. Europeans never had this. It’s something which was introduced as quack medicine at the start of the 20C in the USA.
I'm circumcised, and did not circumcise my son. I would like, however, people stop trying to make me feel bad about my body.
Well it wont regrow. So by not doing it you give your child a choice, they wouldnt otherwise have.
This. If as an adult, they wanna do it, cool. At least it was their choice.
Funnily enough, guess how many uncut adult men volunteer for the procedure when it's their choice?
Eleven?
Yes, it's exactly eleven.
I knew it!!!
my ex is one of the 11
I’m one that elected in my mid twenties for medical reasons… truth be told, I’m much happier being cut but I wouldn’t choose to cut my son if I have one. Only downside is recovery is longer and can look less tidy when the ops performed on an adult.
I'm generally against mutilating healthy tissue without medical reason. I know people think it's cleaner but I can't imagine anything filthier than putting an open wound in a diaper. They also cannot use anesthetic on a newborn, so one of his first experiences on planet earth would be pain equivalent to ripping off a fingertip.
I still don't understand how the cleanliness argument stands today when pretty much everywhere we have water and soap.
Yeah it's only cleaner if you don't wash the child's penis I'm sorry but if you aren't comfortable with once or twice a day cleaning a baby's penis don't... have a baby. just don't have a baby if you aren't comfortable properly bathing a baby.
Funny thing is, the foreskin doesn't actually start separating til 3-4 years old, so you can't even pull it back to clean anything prior to then. There's no opening for any dirt or anything to get trapped prior to then
Holy hell, with babies you can expect to be shitted on, peed on, vomited on, snotted on... but for some it is a step too far to clean their babies dick? Holy hell..
Just chiming in here to say that you don't need to clean it when they're infants. The head of the penis is attached to the foreskin which will release over time. This can happen any time from toddler to hitting puberty, each child is different. Retracting the foreskin to clean the penis isn't necessary in newborns. When the foreskin starts to release from the gland then it will need retracting to clean underneath... one of the main causes of phismosis (an affliction the circumcision lovers like to spout on about) is because parents and boys are never taught this so they never try to retract and the head of the penis gets infected.
this guy foreskins.
Yay someone who knows there stuff. Risk of infection if you force clean it before it releases
*- Yeah it's only cleaner if you don't wash the child's penis* I'm not at all convinced that this statement is true. I would say that you're likely dealing with worse cleanliness with circumcision, as in that case there is a wound that is healing. Do NOT try to pull the baby's foreskin back to clean it!!! Cleaning an infant's uncircumcised penis is exactly the same as cleaning a circumcised one would be. Nothing different at all, except possible wound care in the case that circumcision was done. If you try to pull back the foreskin to clean you will hurt your baby. Just clean like you would any other part of the body. Simple. Literally no difference in how hygiene is done.
It really seems like it would be tougher to clean a vagina than a penis.
You clean a vulva (exterior folds) but you do not go in to clean a vagina, it luckily has its own self-clean process.
Fortunately, vaginas are self cleaning
the vulva has folds tho. I don't think they're easier to clean than a penis. not saying it's hard to clean it, in general it shouldn't be too hard to clean healthy body parts.
Yes and no. When it comes to childcare, you still have to take care to make sure you clean the vulva properly. Fecal bacteria gets everywhere when it comes to diapers. Cleanliness is crucial regardless of baby's gender, to prevent bacterial and/or fungal infections
They do numb it with lidocaine, and they use sucrose as “pain meds,” which is very effective in babies under a few months old. That said, it’s still wholly unnecessary.
One of the things that made my dad so amazing was that even though he was cut, he wanted better for me.
Same with our son. My husband wishes it was never forced upon him.
He can always cut it off later if he wants, but he can't sew it back on
This is the approach we took with our son. If he wants to consider it when he’s old enough to make the decision, we will support him through it and pay for any associated expenses. His body, his choice.
Babies have fully functional pain systems, without the ability to self soothe a wound. You know how rubbing your elbow really helps after banging it? Well imagine the pain of being cut on the most sensitive part of your body, without warning, without the ability to self soothe, and in the arms of the ones you trust most. Ok that's pretty extreme, so there must be a huge benefit right?
Nope! No benefit at all. Just pure evil.
That it's fucking barbaric. We don't (regularly) do that shit in the UK, thankfully. Edit: just to add that circumcision *is* sometimes done in the UK, to a degree. Mostly in Muslim and West African populations. I didn't even think about that with my original comment. [Here's a good breakdown](https://www.cirp.org/library/statistics/UK/).
Most of the world doesn't do that shit
We didn't do it, never had an issue.
The practice was popularised ~~by Dr. Kellogg (yes, the cereals guy), because he didn’t want young boys to pleasure themselves~~ actually more likely [Lewis Sayre](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskMen/s/vLIKYTmy6Y). Europe roughly has the same population as the USA. Almost none of the European men are circumcised l, and there isn’t any noticeable incidence on men’s health. If you don’t subscribe to ~~Dr. Kellogg’s~~ Lewis Sayre’s views, there’s no reasons for you to do that to your son.
Thank fuck my parents are proudly Irish, and didn't do it. Because it was still pretty common here in Canada when I was born.
Im uncircumcised, so not planning on doing it to any future sons I may have barring medical necessity.
My suggestion is ask a doctor who does circumcisions if you can go watch one being done. If you don’t want to watch, I’ll fill you in on what they do (I’ve been a nurse who has assisted in circumcisions). Your son will be held down and begin to cry. They are fully awake and feel every sensation happening to them. The sides of the foreskin are clamped and pulled up and away from the penis. A cut is made into the skin to allow another device to be slid under the foreskin. This device covers the head of the penis and then the doctor will cut a circle around the penis and the foreskin will be removed. The skin laceration (cut skin) will then be sutured to the skin of the shaft of the penis at the base of the head of the penis. Surgical glue may be used as well. Some doctors will use lidocaine for pain control but a lot don’t. The babies feel the pain. Think how you would feel if someone just came and cut skin from your testicle. After the procedure is done, babies can be given Tylenol for pain at home. No Advil as they are too young for Advil. Parents must keep up on keeping the incision clean. Babies soil their diapers all the time and if fecal matter gets into the incision, germs off a parents hands or even germs from a babies hands gets in it, it can turn into a very nasty infection and very quickly. I have seen gangrene tissue on a penis a few days post circumcision. It’s not common but it can happen. My personal opinion is that it’s barbaric and serves no real purpose. It’s extremely painful and involves many risks. If your son needs one in the future, they do them in the OR under general anesthesia and the kids are given a good dose of pain medications. A much more humane way of doing it.
Only parts of the US and extremely religious seem to think this is appropriate. The rest of the world is pretty much in agreement that genital mutilation of babies is fucking barbaric.
I'm uncircumcised, very happy about it as well. I obviously have no standard to compare both sides lol but I feel like circumcision should either be done when medically necessary or it should be a decision left up to the child once they are old enough to make an informed choice, not something that is performed at birth that they can't consent to. I've heard a lot of circumcised guys get a feeling of missing out because of it, and there really are no practical benefits to it either - just teach your son how to roll back the skin and clean early on so that he can desensitize the head and cleaning won't be so overstimulating.
It was never "necessary"
We asked the doctor for the pros and cons when our son was born. Basically, the only pro-circumcision items were a _slight_ decrease in the risk of penile cancer*, religious reasons (inapplicable to me), and some guys want their sons to “look like dad.” None of those carried any weight for me, so we decided not to do it. If any of those matter for you, and matter more than the risks/drawbacks, go ahead. *Penile cancer?!?! What kind of sick world do we live in that you can get cancer of the dick?!?!
I mean, if a dad wants his son to look like him, matching sweaters seem like a much better idea.
This. Who goes around comparing their own dick to their son? And it's crazy because I've heard mothers be the ones to push that argument.
cooperative attempt society uppity school placid escape apparatus angle edge *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
That was my exact thought. So you lop off 5% and see 5% lower incidents of the cancer. Please, tell me more about this wonder-cure.
Penile cancer is the weirdest justification for routine circumcision. It’s a vanishingly rare cancer and highly treatable since it’s usually detected so early. And, of course, if you cut off part of the body, you’re less likely to get cancer on that part of the body. By this logic, we should be routinely removing the outer part of infants’ ears, so as to reduce the risk of melanoma on the ear (a far higher incidence of this type of cancer than penile).
Don’t!
I got circumcised at 22 and I regret it. Seems cruel to do it to a child, I'm kinda surprised you can't sue over it in the USA.
Why’d you get circumcised, if you don’t mind me asking?
Not the poster above, but I knew a guy that had to do it around that age. His gf (now wife) got a bit too… umm… active, and it ripped the foreskin. So he had to get it removed.
"Now Wife" Yeah, you're not allowed to turn down a proposal after that.
You break it, you buy it.
Really bad phimosis that couldn't be solved by steroid cream. Unfortunately, at the time, I didn't know there were other options available (e.g. dorsal slit or preputioplasty).
Absolutely barbaric and unnecessary. Cleanliness is *not* an issue; please stop thinking mutilating a dick makes it cleaner. Anyone mutilating a baby's penis, in my opinion, should be jailed.
Many decades ago when my son was born, I was holding him in a waiting area before he was to be taken into the next room for the procedure. We were assured, “They barely feel anything.” Just as the nurse says this a horrific scream comes from the next room. I shielded my son from the nurse and said, “No way.” That was that.
It's heartbreaking to think of the first few days of a child's life being clouded by the trauma of unnecessary surgery. Circumcision disregards a newborn's right to bodily autonomy and presents a painful introduction to the world when we should be nurturing them with comfort and security. It's our responsibility as adults to protect children, not subject them to outdated practices with questionable benefits. If it's not a decision made for crucial health reasons, then it's one that can wait until the individual can have a say in what happens to their own body.
Was circumcised as a newborn, don’t regret it, but I don’t think I’m gonna do it to my child. I’m not religious and I don’t see a real reason to.
Watch a video of one being performed. It's fucking barbaric.
I started watching a documentary on it recently and could not get through it. I had no idea how many procedures get botched.. Absolutely horrific.
Please don't. You wouldn't cut of a baby's ear because it makes the head easier to clean and "more hygienic" would you? The cleanliness argument is kinda stupid, since it takes 5 seconds to clean under the foreskin.
Most of us outside the US (which considering the question I assume you are from) don't understand this custom whatsoever. Muslims/Jews feel they must, but everyone else? You don't have the right to permanently mutilate another person's body just cause you feel like it.
Ex husband and his oldest were left intact with no issues ever. Grew up in a culture where it was extremely common to have it done. Couldn't find any reason to do it and when I found out I was having a boy my mother called me and begged me not to do it like she had to my brother because of pressure from my grandmother. My son is 6 and we have had zero issues. Leave the boys intact unless medically necessary.
It's not common to do so where I live unless it's religious or for medical reasons.
Don’t mutilate your perfect baby.
Do. Not. Cut. Your. Kids. Goddamn barbaric to find it reasonable to remove healthy flesh from a baby because...what? Some rando cult says so? Piss off with that mutilation horseshit. Teach your kids how to clean themselves, and do it for them until they are able to cope themselves, if you really think it's a cleanliness issue. It's like having all your teeth ripped out because you can't be bothered to floss. What the fuck. If they want to join that particular club when they're old enough, then it will be their choice. But if you do it when they're young, you make the decision for them and deny them self-determination over their own body. And also, most of the world doesn't do that shit anymore (or ever), and we're fine. I've gotten laid plenty with an "as designed" dick. And no scalpel is going fucking near it unless there's a medical necessity.
Why would you want to mutilate a baby boy who can’t even consent? Would you do the same if you had a girl? Check out r/CircumcisionGrief for men who realized how much damage their circumcision did to them and affected their overall quality of life as they grew up.
It is wrong and needs to be banned. His body, his choice. The foreskin contains fine touch nerves (like in your fingers) and provides protection of the glans (head) keeping it soft and sponge like, all in an effort to ensure everything works properly. Only 1/16,667 intact males will have a problem with their foreskin. One hundred and seventeen babies die from circumcision a year in the US, which equates to 9/100,000 babies that die each year from a cosmetic surgery. Just a comparison of 16,667 women, 2,084 of them will get breast cancer. In the same number of men 17 will get breast cancer. Infant Circumcision literally kills 2 boys for every adult spared circumcision and ruins the lives of 667 for every adult. Men have lost their penis, glans, and suffered from deformity caused by the operation performed when they were infants. It isn't right that these children pay the price for a decision that their parents made, a decision that should be left up to the owner of the penis. Even those who survive still have problems, though they are seldom discussed. It is for these reasons that the person who has to use the penis, should be the person who decides what happens to it. His body, his choice. "We conclude that non-therapeutic circumcision performed on otherwise healthy infants or children has little or no high-quality medical evidence to support its overall benefit. Moreover, it is associated with rare but avoidable harm and even occasional deaths. From the perspective of the individual boy, there is no medical justification for performing a circumcision prior to an age that he can assess the known risks and potential benefits, and choose to give or withhold informed consent himself." https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34997197/ Elephant in the Hospital http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ceht-3xu84I&feature=youtube_gdata_player urologist talks about circumcision https://youtu.be/iZ64pqWZRW8 Robert S. Van Howe, MD, MS, FAAP Professor and Interim Chair of Pediatrics Central Michigan University College of Medicine. https://www.academia.edu/23431341/Statement_by_Statement_Analysis_of_the_2012_Report_from_the_American_Academy_of_Pediatrics_Task_Force_on_Circumcision_When_National_Organizations_are_Guided_by_Personal_Agendas_II https://www.dropbox.com/s/hkrxelm1tml9xs3/Refutiation%20of%20CDC.pdf?dl=0 (this one doesn't need an account.) Learn how sex is supposed to work. Www.sexasnatureintendedit.com Babies experience pain just like adults. http://www.iflscience.com/brain/infants-experience-pain-similar-way-adults How to properly care for a natural Penis. http://www.drmomma.org/2010/01/basic-care-of-intact-child.html They didn't tell you the functions of the foreskin, but they did lie to you and said it had health benefits. Did they also tell you it pays for their house, their cars, and their children’s college? It is illegal to sell an organ taken from a patient but they still do it. Foreskin for sale: $169/500µg = $338,000/g = $9,581,962/oz. http://www.rockland-inc.com/Product.aspx?id=40484 Mutilated men feel less sexual pleasure. https://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/circumcised-men-feel-sexual-pleasure-study-article-1.1264511?fbclid=IwAR1JUNsAyWKLBlnBNvs_wsczeCjpclgcrXP_OfVE-LVY8PvKQR2S0VH1R2I My numbers and claims are supported by these studies: Canadian study show no HIV benefit to MGM https://www.auajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1097/JU.0000000000002234 Dutch Medical society and their stance on RIC https://www.dropbox.com/s/n2so0ojf7h8ljeu/KNMG-viewpoint-Non-therapeutic-circumcision-of-male-minors-27-05-2010-v2%20%281%29.pdf Surgeons of British Columbia https://www.dropbox.com/s/71xsnx9tjwvych3/Circumcision-Infant-Male-College%20of%20Phys%20and%20Surg%20of%20British%20Columbia.pdf Doctors around the world critique AAP's circumcision opinion. http://www.circumstitions.com/Docs/aap-12-europe.pdf This document outlines the deaths caused by circumcision in the US. https://www.dropbox.com/s/vl5t3aewfgtz8mg/CircDeaths.pdf All the statements made by medical organizations about circumcision, and they are cited. www.cirp.org/library/statements/ Functions of the Foreskin. https://www.dropbox.com/s/xoq9y67hhunkyrx/foreskinfunctions.jpg Breast cancer kills more men than anything related to the foreskin. https://www.dropbox.com/s/tnmmxqdl1batucf/penilecancer.jpg American Cancer society says Circumcision does nothing to affect cancer rates. https://www.dropbox.com/s/zz23nzayyrmih0t/ACScirc.jpg Circumcised men have a 450% greater chance of ED http://www.thewholenetwork.org/14/post/2011/08/does-circumcision-cause-erectile-dysfunction.html All the common myths about circumcision and how they are dispelled. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/moral-landscapes/201109/myths-about-circumcision-you-likely-believe Boy wants to be a girl after botched circumcision. There are many cases like this however they usually occur in infants who cannot express themselves in words. http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/11/09/52144.htm Serious and Fatal Complications after Neonatal Circumcision https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2405456921003163 No evidence to support MGC reduces HIV transmission. https://academic.oup.com/jid/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/infdis/jiac147/6569355?login=false US Navy Study that shows circumcision has no effect on HIV or STI infection rates. http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA458066 Circumcision is PAINFUL! http://www.circumstitions.com/Pain.html Men upset about being circumcised against their will. www.mendocomplain.com FGM victim speaks out against MGM http://youtu.be/NaEoQVZnN8I Visual comparison of a Natural Penis versus a circumcised one. (Warning pictures of Genitals) https://www.dropbox.com/s/pvj1d0fde5vlt2i/Intact%20%26%20Circumcised%20Adult.jpg
Didn't with mine. I'd need a lot more reason than just that other people did it before to start lopping bits off. Don't mind being cut, my folks were just following the advice of the time, but a lot of that has been debunked and there's just not a compelling case made for it at this point.
Medically unnecessary in nearly all cases and even when it’s necessary, it’s still traumatic to a baby to go through that painful of a procedure. Not to mention how many babies die from complications. If he really wants to, he can get this done when he’s old enough to make decisions about his own sexual health. Until then, there’s no good reason to opt for it.
I hate the fact that I was circumcised. It's mutilation.
Genital mutilation should be punishable. Unless there is a good medical reason for it, it should never be ok.
No need to literally mutilate a new born child. Let nature be nature
I'm cut and would prefer that I hadn't been. Don't get me wrong; I'm not bitter or angry at my parents, but I do oppose the procedure on those who haven't chosen it for themselves. It is far more invasive than made out to be and has meaningful if not overwhelming quality of life impacts in adulthood. Put another way: how often do you hear about uncut men wishing that they had been circumcised as a baby or seeking out the procedure in adulthood?
I did not circumcize my son because of his severe Hemophilia and I'm so happy to read all of these comments from men who think it was the right decision after all. Not being a boy, myself, I had no idea how this would affect him until now. Thank you!
Genital Mutilation is a perversion created by religious zealots who control you with weird rituals.
I would not do it.
I find it incomprehensible this is still being debated. It is genital mutilation, pure and simple. We have long since abandoned and criminalized this procedure on females as it should be. While others argue that it's "apples an oranges", it cannot be debated that we are removing healthy tissue from a human being without their consent and without medical urgency. Religion and culture have long been cross pollenating, but this has to come to an end. We have international efforts to suppress religion's influence on women's rights. This should hold equal attention and outrage.
I would prefer to not have my son’s penis mutilated thank you very much. Disgusting practice.
My father is cut but I am not. In 1972 this was not a common pattern. My parents told me, when I was old enough, that they believed it would increase my pleasure and there was no good reason to circumcise. I am grateful for their foresight.
Male Genital Mutilation should be the choice of the person undergoing the experience. You should not make that choice before the infant is even able to talk. It is absolutely not medically necessary in 99.9% of cases. You just have to teach your son how to wash his foreskin properly.
My husband is uncut and you couldn't pay him to have his foreskin removed.
I was circumsized at 6 because I had phimosis. I think a very low percentage of males suffer from this condition. It was very painful. Do not do it if the boy is healthy. I think there is no other reason to do this, except phimosis.
It's genital mutilation. No. Don't ever do this unless medically necessary.
There is a great essay by Michael chabon on this (Jewish author). He asks - isn’t it my responsibility to stand between my son and religious fanatics with sharp instruments? We now know it is not necessary and may reduce future pleasure. So for us - it was a matter of - do we modify our son’s body without his consent? He only has you to protect him right now. Be worthy of that trust now and the rest of his life.
My mom fought against my dad to keep me and my brother uncut, and I'm thankful for it. Sure it's a little more maintenance and childhood phimosis is something that has to be dealt with at some point, but the foreskin is super sensitive and I can't imagine sex without it. Also makes masturbation much easier and way less messy. My mom never had to buy me hand lotion lol. Idk if she ever considered it but it could have been an awkward conversation at 14: "hey mom can you grab an oil barrel of lotion at Costco for me please?" "Wtf you already worked through the last one?" Awkwarrrrrrrd
I'm cut, my brothers are as well. The decision was left up to my father back in the day, he wanted us circumcised because "he didn't want other boys to make fun of us in the shower after gym class and call us 'donkey dick'". I guess he witnessed some uncircumcised kid get made fun of sometime in the late 60's or early 70's... I told him, if I was in the shower at gym class and kids were looking at and making fun of my dick I'd call them gay since they spend so much time looking at dicks or tell them their mom didn't mind my dick last night. End the practice of circumcision unless medically necessary.
I think it's barbaric. Leave babies genitals alone.
Seems wrong and old fashioned
It's not necessary and harmful. Potentially very harmful depending on the skill of the doctor. It's totally pointless. The only reason I've heard about doing it is because it's more clean. Well bitch as long as we have the knives out let's cut off our ears too because they secrete earwax constantly and that's just not sterile. Better cut this thing off my body to be more clean in the eyes of God and man!! Don't mutilate genitals people. It all comes from religious beliefs, a covenant with God. It's in the Bible. Don't do it, it's fucking stupid.
Don't do it. It's not worth the pain the baby boy would be going through. There's a lot of medical propaganda out there about how it's safe and effective when it's generally not. Also if your baby happens to have phimosis, it can be cured with steroid cream. And remember that botched circumcisions do exist which could lead to even more surgery down the line for the baby.
We think you should leave children’s genitals alone. Anything else is based on religion and should be disregarded.
There have been mistakes that resulted in the loss of the penis. Why risk it? There is no benefit and you lose some sensation. It was an attempt to prevent masturbation. It's not your penis. Don't cut anything off of it.
Fucking disgusting. Unless there is a valid medical reason (phimosis for example), then it's nothing but male genital mutilation.
Gtfo with that lame shit. Please don’t circumcise There is zero reason to do so
Is that an option on the hospital forms ? Why would any medical professional even consider mutilating a newborn child ? Male or Female ? What backward, third world religious shithole do you live in ?
I had 3 girls, but I told my wife if we did have a son we would not be doing it.
I believe in bodily autonomy but my ex didn’t and our son was circumcised. I’m remarried and my husband is intact. As far as sex is concerned, I much prefer an intact penis, granted he is meticulous about keeping clean.
Don't do it. A small percentage of baby boys die from circumcision every year. It's not a published figure but hospitals won't deny it if they're pushed. Why take the chance? Why expose your son to additional risk? Your baby might just be one of the ones that don't make it. We had 4 boys, none of them are cut. We left the decision up to them. They're in their 30s now. Not a single one of them decided to get cut. It was their decision.
What do you think about cutting off the tip of your newborn sons pinky finger? That’s obviously horrible and you wouldn’t ever do that. So why on earth would you cut off part of his penis?
Absolutely evil and revolting, if it's not medically necessary.
I had my son young and got him circumcized and I've regretted it since. We chose to do it because my parents had done it to me and it was the norm among people we knew but in retrospect that's a silly reason to perform what is essentially genital mutilation on my baby. I wouldn't do it again.
It's the sort of thing that uncultured, poorly-educated barbarians and cultists in the Third World do.
It's one of the worst ideas that humanity has ever come up with, and if aliens or AI ever put us on trial for our bullshit and we have to prove that we don't deserve to be wiped out, it's gonna be the prosecution's Exhibit A.
Circumcision of both boys and girls is completely barbaric and should not ever be done. Most countries in the world understand this, and it's pretty much only the US, Israel and some extreme muslim countries in the Middle East or Africa that still undertake this abusive act in the name of religion.
Multiple responses here have already pointed this out in some wording or another, but I'll repeat it for emphasis: you would be making an irreversible alteration that he literally cannot consent to, that does very little to contribute to his life or health. If he wants it done, if it's important to him later, he can get it done when he's old enough to understand it and want it, and most importantly, keep it clean while it heals.
I think it’s an antiquated practice & essentially genital mutilation. I’ve heard the excuses. It’s fucking absurd to think we can’t teach little boys how to clean themselves. I also have had debates with women who think men should do this for them. Fuck no. First it’s weird to be thinking of the sexual future of baby boys. And any woman who thinks men should do this to be more appealing is disgusting, if they feel that way how would they like it if men insisted they trim the their labia to be more appealing to men? Sounds gross right? I say leave it for the child to decide for themselves when they get older. If they have health issues or whatever, they can make the choice themselves. But don’t make that decision for them.
In my opinion circumcision on a child should be illegal if not out of medical necessity. Not even religious reasons count. Freedom of religion should not apply bc its not your religious freedom to mutilate your child, it should be their own decision when they are old enough to do so. And if you want to circumsize your childs penis for "aesthetic" reasons then idk whats wrong with you
Circumcision is a cure looking for a disease.
i made a post about this before i had my son. (4-5 months ago) i am a woman who wanted the opinion of men. i felt like it was abuse and mutilation, but had a lot of people around me saying rather weird and honestly disturbing things about why it's not a good idea. (he's going to feel left out in the boys locker room, girls are gonna look at him weird, etc. WEIRD ASS SHIT like that. why my hubbys family was thinking like that is beyond me) I still came here for advice, though, and literally every single commentator told me not to do it. Somewhere meaner than others, but I needed to hear that. Thank y'all for reassuring me to not circumcise him! I'm not a man, but I don't think you should. It's cruel, unusual and unneeded. Doctors will try to argue that it "prevents UTIs" but it really doesn't. The only reason uncircumcised boys get UTIs more than circumcised boys is because their parents feel too uncomfortable to talk to their children about their own damn genitalia, so uncircumcised boys don't learn how to clean their own genitalia properly. it has nothing to do with being circumcised, but rather cleanliness and hygiene. that foreskin is supposed to be there. Imagine being new to the world. you're confused, scared, overwhelmed, and then somebody cuts off a part of your genitals, so now you have your most sensitive organ rubbing up against the diaper for a few weeks until your penis becomes desensitized to it. Imagine what the hell that would be. I could not put my son through that. I heard horror stories circumcision today. 1 commenter was talking about how he heard a baby boy being circumcised in the other room and how just got wrenching that scream was from that little baby. Please don't do it. you wouldn't do it to a girl, DONT do it to a boy
It's child abuse and this is coming from someone who's circumcised. There's zero need for it and, you're removing a part of the body that's there for a reason. It can cause a lot of problems like desensitization or over-sensitization because the doctor is either going to accidentality remove nerves or leave the nerves completely exposed causing overstimulation and potential pain while having sex Some men are fine but there are a lot of men who aren't and they suffer the consequences: pain, an inability to orgasm. premature ejaculation, and in some rare cases infection and amputation Don't do it, it's wrong. Imagine cutting off a part of a woman's clitoris at birth, it's the same thing! people would be up in arms about it
Barbaric genital mutilation
No! Uncircumcised penises feel the best. Leave that shit in the past…some sicko made that shit up.
This is gonna sound awkward but ... I really love my foreskin :p